MSC seeks comment on proposed judicial performance measures

The Michigan Supreme Court is interested in measuring trial court performance and providing public access to the reports.
Proposed Administrative Order No. 2012-XX would authorize the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) to create standardized methods for evaluating trial court performance.
The proposal is broad in concept but short on details.
The concept:
Performance measurement is a critical means to ...

4 comments

“performance measures”? Could use some definition, ya think? Does it simply mean dispositions? Or does it mean “quality” in the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance sense? And how does one measure THAT in a judge and his/her court? Don’t most attorneys recognize which judges and their courtrooms attain high “performance measures” and which ones don’t?
Something meaningful out of this renewed exercise will fail if it focuses principally on “dispositions”. The consequences of earlier focuses on dispositions have already been seen for better or worse – and they are not all bad, but…dispositions as a measure can also have an adverse effect on quality. After all, each case IS, by definition, different and a multiplicity of facts, parties, attorneys and “The Law” affect differently every “disposition”. So what are the “performance measures”?”
If, on the other hand, “performance measures” focus on bringing the courtroom into the present century by embracing and utilizing everyday electronic communications in the prosecution of cases, then such measures will definitely and generally benefit the legal system delivery of services to the public.
So I look forward to seeing SCAO’s efforts in this initiative.

Thanks for the link. All of the measures are relevant, but certainty of trial date ranks high for me. Also, the costs marker really is top narrowly focused on the court’s internal operation, it seems. Shouldn’t it be broader to recognize that snail mail and paper filings impose costs on the litigants (well, their attorneys) and that electronic filing ought to get a high emphasis in the cost area. It will not only reduce the litigants costs but the clerk-work of filing will be reduced and accompanied by a reduction in court staff. The federal courts have helped show the way. State courts should follow their lead.